Below Freezing
by Sound Fox
Summary: In a post-apocolyptic world torn apart by man - forests stripped bare, wildlife killed out - the wolves' only way to survive is living in the sewers below the city. What will happen when four newcomers arrive?
1. Epilogue

(I do not own Wolf's Rain, but I do own Taro, Kana, and whoever else isn't a character from the show. Though, it would be kind of cool to own Wolf's Rain.. :} )  
  
CAUTION, WARNING, ETC.: This fanfic does not follow the plot of the show. It just has the same characters, with their same personalities, etc.)

**Epilogue**

In the middle of a barren wasteland, where a city of Freeze was the only civilization for miles around, a figure, or rather, a mass of mostly-black fur matted with blood, stepped gingerly on three legs towards the distant city. The fourth leg was held up near the beast's chest, twisted at an odd angle that would certainly indicate broken bones. One golden eye peered from the animal's face, the other seeming to be either blind, or torn out, by the way it was closed.

As it neared the city, its breathing grew heavier, and its tongue lolled from its place behind slightly-yellowed fangs. White-tipped ears were laid back against a streamlined head, and the once-magnificent canine fell onto a cobbled walkway on the outskirts of the city, laying its head down on the stones in defeat. Perhaps it would rest awhile... wait for its strength to return. It always did.

Claws clicked frantically on the stones, and then stopped suddenly. The wolf lying on the ground opened his eye, staring up at the tall wolflike-dog that had halted above her. It scrutinized him with deep blue eyes, then stepped back, growling. The dog's lips curled into a nasty snarl, and it began barking, whereupon the dog's master emerged from an alleyway and skidded to a stop, gun held in his arms, a heartless look in his eyes.

"Good job, Blue."

The hunter raised his gun, driving three bullets into the helpless wolf's skull. In the last seconds before it died, the wolf poured out a howl, the effort eating his strength before his head fell with a dull thud to the stones.

At the other side of the city, in the bowels of a dirty sewer, someone heard the howl.

(Whoo. Short epilogue. The next part's longer. R/R, please.)


	2. Taro

(I do not own Wolf's Rain, but I do own Taro, Kana, and whoever else isn't a character from the show.  
  
WARNING: This fanfic does not follow the plot of the show. It just has the same characters, with their same personalities, etc.)

Chapter 1. **Taro**

****

Down in the dank sewers, beneath the streets over which mammoth vehicles rumbled like ravenous behemoths, and where rats scurried ceaselessly through the winding passages made by filthy pipes, a damp creature roamed through the dark. Crimson eyes gleamed in the occasional shards of light that flickered from dying lanterns on the greened stone walls, appearing only every few seconds. The animal was moving quickly, as if it had a destination in these long-abandoned routes of access, amongst the cockroaches and vermin that had somehow managed to live down here.

When the brute entered a beam of eerie yellow light, it could be seen fully, flashing between stages of wolf and man. Jet-black hair fell down past his ears, which were human, but pointed at the tips to show off his wolf heritage. Earrings studded his ears from the very tip, stopping with a silver hoop at the lobe. Around his neck he wore a rawhide loop with a wolf fang attached to it. His usual attire was a red and black sweater, and black jeans, torn at the knees and heels.

After a few minutes of his seemingly pointless meandering, the boy stopped, a black wolf standing in his place. The wolf had a red stripe dyed down from his forehead to where his muzzle met his nose, flanked by smaller red dots, six even down each side of the stripe. The rawhide loop and hoop earring were the only accessories that had stayed with him through the change between wolf and human illusion, along with the jet black pelt, of course.

Claws shredded along the grimy, mildew-covered stone as the wolf turned, skidding into a run after only a few seconds. Worn pawpads beat the ground in a steady rhythm until he reached an unbarred passageway out of the sewers, climbing the stairway until he reached the top.

Black fur had once again turned to black hair and black clothing as the 'teenager' stepped from the top step, hands in his pockets, glancing around. The human illusion of wolves might be the same as being incognito, for the humans could only rarely sense the presence of a wild animal around them.

This wolf in particular was named Taro. He had lived in Freeze City for years, ever since he had been taken away as a pup to be kept in captivity, for testing. In truth, he was only a half-wolf, the rest of him being a mix of mongrels (mostly shepherds and huskies) that roamed the streets these days. Though, Taro had looked the most like a wolf in his litter.

So that they could distinguish him from the other test animals, they had painted the red stripe down his face, with the red dots next to it. When he had tried to escape from the facility, he had been unable to remove the stripe from his face, so he went into hiding for a while, and within that period of time, he learned of his ability to take on a human illusion.

Now, he was free to do whatever he pleased, but he preferred the damp sewers to life above, where people were cold and angry. In the sewers, the only company was rats, and the occasional cat or dog that would become trapped, and eventually die. Taro had lived down there for two years, so he pretty much knew every route throughout the system.

Oh, back to the story.

Taro had heard the dying howl from the wolf, so he had come from his hideout to investigate. The sound had been somber; forlorn. Not something that would make anything pleasant come to mind.

Sniffing gingerly at the air, Taro started at a trot down the cement sidewalk, gradually breaking into a run. For 10 minutes, he continued on only short bursts of air, chest heaving as he made his way through the shortcuts of the city, to get to the periphery of the city, where he knew the howl had come from. His dark scarlet eyes flashed as he ducked under a clothesline, nearly tripping over a..

Taro stopped, staring down at the body of the wolf, lying in a puddle of blood that had pooled around him while he lay. Shaking uncontrollably, Taro lifted his head, howling for all he was worth and hoping that someone, anyone, would answer his call of mourning.

As Quent tugged Blue along at a trotting pace down the cobbled walk, the dark mongrel stopped, causing Quent to nearly have to drag her along. "Blue?" he queried, patting the dog's head and tousling her ears, "What's wrong, girl?"

Blue simply stood, ears lifted straight up in the air as she listened to the howl of Taro. It had moved something deep within her.. something she hadn't even considered for ages. Could she.. ? No, it was impossible.. wasn't it?

(Sorry for the boring chapter. It's 3:54 AM at the moment.)


	3. Come Out and Play

2. Come Out and Play

Smoke swirled in tendrils from Kana's lips as he took a drag on his cigarette, the end burning red every few seconds as he inhaled, then released again, polluting the air with the nauseating scent. His ice-blue eyes rolled lazily beneath half-closed eyelids, almost hidden by fault of the pale blond hair that fell into his line of vision. Kana was a fox. But he wasn't just a fox – he was actually a shape shifter who could shift between fox and human, not just take on an illusion, as others did.

Pulling a lighter from his pocket, he flicked the hinged top off, a small, blue-bottomed flame springing up from the metal, then dissipating as quickly as it had appeared. "Damn..." Kana cursed inwardly, tossing his lighter back over his shoulder. It flew over the edge of the rooftop, landing with a metallic click on the cement sidewalk below.

The fox leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head. Ah, how luxurious. His own rooftop for a day, pigeon shit-free. Well, for now, anyway... Kana shifted, frowning. Maybe he wouldn't think about that any more.

Glancing about cautiously, he waited a few seconds before shifting into his fox body. When he did, he immediately scampered to the edge, jumping off and landing catlike on a windowsill for an apartment he knew was abandoned. After all, he spent just about every day on this building.

After only a few minutes, he had reached the ground, and now flitted expertly throughout the shoes and boots that threatened to squash him. He was almost unnoticeable, being the Kit fox he was. Grinning doggedly, he dodged through the crowd, glad that it thinned out near the curbside. As soon as the light flashed to a crudely-pixilated design of a walking man, Kana (as a human) crossed the street, hands in his pockets.

Pulling another cigarette from the small supply in his pocket, he sighed, remembering that he didn't have a lighter. Oh, well... he could just keep it in his mouth. For... um... comfort?

Kana leaned against a tall brick building, stuffing his hands into his pockets again. Across the street, he could see a heavy glow pouring from the curtains of a window, orange, with shadows dancing across it every so often.

He turned his head, staring at the place next to him, where the light was making patterns on the building. It was odd, how something so simple could be so beautiful. Blinking at it in curiosity, he outstretched a hand, letting the golden color wash over it. Oh, how easily amused he was. It truly didn't take much to make Kana wonder at life.

After being distracted by the light for another minute or two, Kana started down the sidewalk, whistling some ditty or another. As he turned the corner, he nearly crashed into a dark-haired teenager, followed, after a few seconds, by a big black dog and an older man (probably in his late 50s or something), holding tightly onto her leash, with a gun in his hand. Kana spun on his heel, watching with his blue eyes wide.

".. The hell... ?", he said softly, and started following them, careful not to get too close to them in case they would turn and chase his poor hide instead. As the teen had passed by, Kana could've sworn he heard claws ticking on the sidewalk... And he had smelled wolf.

Furrowing his brows, Kana sped up, shifting from human to fox as they ran further from the heart of the city. The man finally stopped, Kana not far behind. Obviously, the man's quarry had disappeared, as he was surveying the area furiously. His dog, meanwhile, was sniffing at the sidewalk, also baffled at the departure of Taro.

The man, after about 15 minutes of looking around for the wolf, finally gave up, growling and muttering something about a 'sneaky devil.'

Suddenly, the big black dog began barking, jerking Quent on the leash. He turned around, gazing at the spot where Kana had been just seconds before. Well, well, well.. maybe Blue was losing her touch.

Kana hid behind a bag of trash in an alleyway, hoping the dog couldn't smell him past the reeking garbage. Whew... he sure couldn't.


End file.
